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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

{ A Peek Inside Heirloom Tomatoes }

Each one has a completely unique flavour from the next, and make regular, boring, waxy grocery store GMO tomatoes taste like, well...boring, tasteless tomatoes!

It's such a pity that we can't find these on the grocery store shelves. It makes me wonder what other varieties of other fruits and vegetables many people and especially children will never know or taste.

I'm sorry I can't show you a bigger, better beefsteak. We have many, but we ate them all. And then we ate this one too.

All it took was a few bites before the Mr. forgave me for turning most of our yard into a garden. That, and you know, not having to mow... I promise i'll post an update with a better beefsteak once I pick the huge ones that are still on the vine and just starting to ripen.

This brandywine is rather misshapen too, which is one of the hilarious perks of heirloom veggies. They aren't uniform, they all have their own personality. They refuse to conform! And even the underdogs have their own hidden talents and tricks.

And all the other tomatoes out there know and respect that.

Even their insides are different. Very different.

Beefsteak (Do not be fooled. There's no beef involved here, folks. If you listen closely though, you might here the occasional moo because he's got a good sense of humour.)

Your beef burger might as well be just plain naked without him.

Brandywine. A trusty, delicious and hearty, loyal and dependable friend who's always there, no matter how many times you forget to water her soil or feed her snacks like coffee grounds and eggshells.

Pink Ox Heart (again, no beef. But pretty shape, and a great paste tomato.)

He can be a bit of a wiener and not want to ripen without the most perfect of conditions, and the slugs will pick on him first before attempting the other tomatoes. But if you start to tell him who's boss and to put on his big boy pants, he'll start to stand up for himself.

Black Russian

Where do I start with this one? This is the guy who couldn't decide if he was a cherry tomato or a regular tomato. He's small, but not small enough to just pop in your mouth or eat on salads. But he certainly isn't large. you need about 4 slices to cover a standard sandwich.

It's like he said "well, put a fork in me, i'm done growing now-Because heck, ladies i'm tasty! So deal with it".

And to think, there are so many more out there. The thought is overwhelming.

If you can find one, I urge you to visit a farmers' market, and go see what real food tastes like. Sample some heirloom fruits and veggies today. Surprise your taste buds. They might, after all make life long bosom buddies.

***

P.S to the "anonymous" lady who messaged me earlier this week, and told me to "stop talking about tomatoes already" and said some naughty, and not very creative words,

6 comments:

My problem is that I never remember what I planted, and then when it's time to harvest, I can't tell if my tomatoes are ripe or not. "Is that one supposed to be red and yellow?" and "Black is good, right? Black was in the name, I think?"

Is there a trick to knowing when tomatoes are ripe without knowing which kind you planted?

I usually tag their cage or stake so that i remember which is which. They have blown off though before, or had ink run off in the rain!You can always feel it with your hand and see how firm it is...if it's as soft as your other tomatoes that are ripe, chances are, it's ripe too. I suppose the worst thing that can happen is you pick a slightly under ripe tomato and have to make a fried green ( or yellow) tomato. Oh darn.

How can there be people in the world that don't want to talk tomatoes? I love this post. I have 8 varieties of toms growing this year, and plan to do a detailed performance report at the end of the season. You might have turned me back on to brandy wine next year. x